My dog seriously needs to be taught some manners!

Sunday, February 15, 2015

That first year...those first 5 years were awesome. Technology was not yet more important than the creative content. Just look at this tv set complete with chairs seemingly (probably) picked up from the curb.....In 1975 at age 17, I wouldn't have imagined that in 40 years I would have a couple of chairs just like this in storage waiting to be reupholstered by me.

And, I have chairs from other shows too. What are the odds, considering I'm a serial curbside furniture saver.... I bought a couple of these chairs from two different consignment booths here in Lafayette. Perfect for the kitchen table I will be sitting at some time in the near future, drinking coffee while watching the birds and squirrels and other wildlife in the front yard. After I bought them, I saw them in the saloon of the old movie "Rio Bravo" with John Wayne, Dean Martin, and Ricky Nelson. "Hey! Those are my chairs!!" They're in storage now, but will be repainted and fitted with new cushions to sit at the table in my newly remodeled kitchen....someday....

New Year's resolution #6 - Remodel....I'll be posting on the progress of these chairs soon!

Saturday, January 17, 2015

I had a chance to restore an antique bench that once sat in a barber shop. Do men still go to barber shops? It made me remember when my son was little. He has 2 older sisters, so on haircutting days I would take him with us to the salon. One by one we would get our hair "done" while the rest waited on the purple and pink sofa reading the women's magazines and breathing in the aroma of nail laquer and perm chemicals.

Billy was so cute. The beautician (beautician! wow, that term dates me, huh?) made a fuss over him. She got him to say the cutest things. At the time "The Lion King" was playing in the theaters, she asked him what his favorite song in the movie was. "weem a wap a weem a wap" was what he sang (In the Jungle, right?).

When he got a little bit older, and it seemed like he needed a hair cut every other week, his dad started taking him to a barber. Not only was the air less toxic, but the visits were short, and much cheaper. I'm sure, also that the waiting benches were much like this one:

Black vinyl, iron frame, utilitarian. Not fussy or pink or purple.

The arm caps on this are molded plastic.

This face! My darling! Can't you just hear him singing along with Timon and Pumbaa?

Sunday, January 11, 2015

They don't make it like they used to! Newer furniture looks good, but, boy, you really have to do some research before you can be sure the piece is worth the money. Sometimes the small details can make a huge difference in customer satisfaction.

I was called on to fix two sectionals recently purchased for a sorority "bum room" (rec room). They are fun colors, comfortable, they fit the space,

but the cushions kept slipping forward. The back cushions are attached to the frame, so it wasn't easy to shove the seats back under them.

2 sectionals with 5 seats each, that's 10 cushions to wrestle with!

They asked the furniture manufacturer (who, by the way, caters to commercial clients, and they aren't cheap!) if they would fix it. Their solution was to send an envelope of random hardware with no instructions, and expect the house mother to install it herself...

what????

Trust me, this is a job for a professional.(Shame on you, sectional maker!)

Here's what I did. First I took the back feet off each piece, then each dust cover,

Then the backs had to come off so that I could staple down the elastic straps with clips that would clip on to the cushions.

The cushion covers had to be removed so straps with D-rings could be sewn into each side of the band.

And this is how it all came together.

On the end:

And in the middle:

Once it was all put back together, you'd never know I had it all torn apart.

The clips and straps are holding everything in place now. No more sloppy cushions.

Selfie of the day captured in the mirror across the room :)

A good upholstery shop can provide the great customer service that the brand new furniture stores won't.

Friday, May 11, 2012

How about some old school garage band punk for a Friday workday in the shop? I watched VH1 It Might Get Loud last night and looked up this old Jack White (The White Stripes) recording from when he was a teenager apprenticing at an upholstery shop in Detroit. I had read an article about this early colaboration, but didn't know they recorded an album. They worked all day, then swept up a place large enough to make some music.

I play lots of music while I work. Well, not personally, but it plays on the stereo computer.

The White Stripes are a favorite from when I had to borrow all my son Billy's cds to play before internet radio or spotify.

Funny story about Billy and The White Stripes...My mom got me a guitar for my 46th birthday. I struggled to learn a few chords and practiced until I could haltingly strum through one song. I sucked. Billy picked up the guitar one day and mastered it in like...an hour. (I gave him the guitar.) The first thing he played for me made me think he was a little slow in the head though. Duh da duh duh da duhhhhh duhhhh....

Then I heard this on the radio and had to laugh. He'd figured out the first seven notes of this song:

This post is dedicated to all of my creative upholsterer cohorts everywhere!

Friday, May 4, 2012

It's that time of year to update outdoor cushions, change out the sofa pillows, and put on the spring slipcovers!

When sewing a pillow or cushion with covered welt cord (piping), you can join the ends by simply lapping one side over the other and sewing down, or you can actually sew the ends together for a nice professional finish.

It takes a bit of practice, but once you get the hang of it, it's easy. Refer to this post to see how I cut the welt cover in strips and join them.

(for single welt, I cut the strips 1 1/2")

Have you tried this method? How do you sew welted pillow covers? Would love to hear from you!

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Remember that old eastlake style chair I was going to start on? It's been painted (love it!!), but put that aside while we worked on 2 others. I'll post pics of that when it's done. We got these chairs sprung up and upholstered. All the padding and fabric is appropriate for use in a protected outdoor area, or a powder room.

What we started with

And now!

I'm going to show you how to make the double welt that is used to trim out the edges